What Could Have Been
by kaejae
Summary: Do actions really speak louder then words? Secrets are revealed between two teammates, causing feelings to spark between them.
1. Whoops!

**Author's note: **An idea I had after I made a doodle of a pairing I _secretly_ shipped. The secret's out now, isn't it?

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**Chapter One: Whoops!**

"Haha! You'll never defeat me Loonatics! You and your pathetic powers!" The villainess mocked as she dodged one of Ace's laser blasts, "You're going to have to move a lot quicker than that if you're going to try to stop Magma Volcana!"

"Lex, maneuver 81!" Ace called to Lexi as he got into a fighting stance.

"Maneuver 81? Ace, we're not ready to pull that one off!" Lexi shouted in mid-flip while evading a fiery blast of molten rock.

The Loonatics had been in battle with Magma for several hours already, both sides refusing to give up. Although protected in heat resistant bionic armor created by Tech, the resident genius of the Loonatics, the heat generated by the new foe's powers began to take on an unexpected increase in temperature.

"We've gotta try! Duck! Slam! See if you can keep Miss Lava lady over dere distracted! Lexi, let's go! Rev and Tech, get ready with the Atomic Phase Departiculator!"

"Let's see you cool down with this!" Danger dipped is finger in a nearby fountain and began to fire off his Aqua-dense power while Slam gave a loud roar and launched his Thunder Mode attack.

"Rev, help me set-up the Departiculator! We have to make sure it hits Magma's weak spot in order for it to achieve its maximum effectiveness! Take these!" Tech tossed a pair of oddly looking goggles to the roadrunner.

"I've-never-seen-these-before! Say-Tech! Is-this-a-new-invention-of-yours?" Rev commented, while placing the goggles over his eyes.

"It's the Biointernal-Seeker-5000! It works along with your internal GPS to scan special abilities and weaknesses of anybody you use it on."

"On-it-Tech!" Rev's eyes glowed as the goggles scanned Magma from head-to-toe.

"What does it say Rev?"

"Aim-for-her-neck!"

"But of course!" Tech exclaimed as his eyes seized the metallic band around Magma's neckline. "Everyone! We have to knock that titanium-steel collar off her neck!" Tech shouted as he prepped the Departiculator.

Danger and Slam adjusted their aim and targeted Magma's throat.

"Tech, you've got the magnetic powers! Do something!" Danger shouted.

"Titanium has a paramagnetic ordering! I'll have to create a strong magnetic field in order to get that baby off, but in doing so, it'll deactivate the Departiculator!"

"Ready Lexi?" Ace nodded.

Lexi shook her head, "Not with this suit on. It's throwing me off balance."

"It's now or never. We know her weak point, all we have to do is expose it so dat we can finish her off! Duck and Slam have softened it up already!"

Lexi looked down briefly and fixed her gaze on Magma's collar, "Let's go."

The two bunnies charged towards Magma and leapt into the air. Both bunnies shifted their body weight and turned to throw a roundhouse kick towards Magma's collar. Ace flew past Magma's side as the bionic suit threw him off balance. Lexi's kick was perfectly headed towards Magma's neck as it delivered the final blow needed to break the titanium band. A huge crack began to start down the middle of the collar. Lexi flipped back away from Magma, but lost footing as she landed. Ace used his laser shot to completely knock off the band.

Magma's eyes widened at the sight of her damaged armor, "You're going to pay dearly for that!"

With that, the fiery orange flames surrounding Magma began to glow blue as her powers charged up to create her most powerful blast ever.

Ace turned to see Lexi down on the ground and cried, "Lexi! Get up!"

Lexi propped herself up and realized her boots had started to melt to the ground.

"I can't move!" She screamed as she saw the blue blaze heading her way.

"Rev! Activate the Departiculator!" Tech ordered as he ran towards Lexi.

Magma shot the torrid sphere of molten blue lava at the female bunny as Rev simultaneously fired the Departiculator at Magma.

Lexi curled up, burying her face in her hands as she thought this was going to be the end. She let the tears flow as she waited for the flames to engulf her, however instead she heard a scream of extreme aguish as she looked up to see that Tech was struck by Magma's shot.

"Tech!" She cried, and then heard another scream from Magma's direction. The Loonatics watched as the Departiculator hit Magma, transforming her molten liquid body to a gas that evaporated into the atmosphere.

"Pretty!" Slam smiled as he watched Magma's vapors disappear.

"We showed her didn't we," Danger scoffed as he polished off his fist using his chest.

"Guys! Tech's badly hurt!" Lexi called and she stripped off her bionic armor to reveal her usual battle uniform. The other Loonatics rushed to Tech's side as Lexi knelt by the coyote, and began to peel off bits of the bionic armor that had fused with his fur and skin. Tech grimaced as he felt the layers shedding off and was surprised that the blast didn't hurt as much as he thought it would. Perhaps was he becoming desensitized to the pain? Either way, it still hurt nonetheless.

"Tech-buddy! You-can-make-it-through! I-promise-I'll-stop-sneaking-into-your-lab-and-playing-with-all-of-your-gadgets!" Rev pleaded as he watched his friend slowly regain consciousness.

Tech began to glow green as his blistered and blackened skin began to regenerate back to normal, followed by the growth of fur. "You better not have had your fingers crossed, 'cause I'm holding you to that." He weakly smiled.

"We need to get him back to HQ," Ace instructed, as Slam hoisted Tech over his shoulder and they set off on their jet packs.

-----

Ace and Lexi sat at the meeting table going over what had happened during battle earlier.

"Ace, I told you we weren't ready. The suits threw us off balance."

"But it worked didn't it?" Ace smiled.

"It did." Lexi agreed, then stood up, "but I almost died out there! Tech could've died too!"

Ace's smile quickly disappeared as he realized what would have happened if Tech didn't have molecular regeneration capabilities. He too stood up and ran a hand through his hair, "You're right. I'm sorry. I guess I wasn't thinkin' straight. I was just so exhausted from the battle-"

"Ace, we all were. It's okay," She hugged him, "but just don't try to push too hard if you're not sure that something is going to work and end up putting others at risk."

He nodded, "How's Tech doin' anyways?"

"Last Rev checked, Tech was resting in his lab, but that was about an hour ago," she replied, "I suppose I should to check up on him, just to make sure that he's okay."

Lexi turned around to head towards Tech's lab, but was stopped when Ace grabbed her wrist.

"I'm sorry," Ace apologized.

"I already said it was ok-"

"It's not. You're right." He hugged Lexi tightly, "We coulda lost you. I coulda lost you."

Lexi let out a deep breath and hugged Ace back, "It's already over. Don't worry about it anymore."

She smiled at Ace and headed to Tech's lab. Ace watched as Lexi turned the corner.

"I coulda lost you," a voice mimicked.

Ace turned to see Danger sitting in the lounge area, he had no idea that Duck had been sitting there the while time.

"Relationship troubles?" Danger asked, rolling his eyes and pretending to gag.

"Eh, shaddup."

-----

Lexi noticed the door to Tech's lab was open and decided to slip in. There were all sorts of gadgets and gizmos that were spread all over the workbench, but no Tech. She continued to wander through the lab in search of the coyote.

"Tech?" She called, but no answer. _Hmm. He's probably in the med-lab then. _She proceeded into one of the elevators and headed up the medical lab.

-----

Tech stood in front of a long, full body mirror to inspect for any injuries he might have acquired during the fight earlier. He stripped down to his boxers, revealing a slim, but yet built physique.

_I really need to work out more_. He thought as he stared at his reflection.

Tech began with an inspection of his front side, observing for any visible lesions and palpated for any abnormalities in his bone structure. _So far, so good_. He turned his back to the mirror, and did the same - this time more meticulously as it was a bit difficult to do a self-inspection of the posterior side. He began to write his findings in a medical journal as he liked to keep records of how much his powers of molecular regeneration could handle. _Interesting… no noted abnormalities. _Just then he heard the elevator tone ring as the pod reached the level of the med-lab. Tech nearly fell back as he scrambled to grab his clothes off the bed.

"Hey Tech!"

The elevator doors opened.

Tech's eyes widened as the elevators slid opened. Lexi stepped into the med-lab.

"I just came up to-"

Lexi was now bearing the same facial expression. She very briefly looked him up and down before cupping her hands over her face and turning around quickly.

"Tech! I'm so sorry!"

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That's it for now... Please don't forget to R&R!  
KJ 


	2. Impulsive

**Author's Note:** Let the fun begin...

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**Chapter Two: Impulsive.**

"Geez Tech. Couldn't you have put up a 'Do Not Enter' sign or something?" Lexi peeked between her fingers as she entered the med-lab.

As Lexi entered, Tech reached for a medical gown to dress himself, but to his dismay he had forgotten to order some new supplies. Instead, he removed the bed sheet from the examining table and fiddled around with it to cover himself.

Lexi watched as Tech draped the sheet over himself. His build had really taken her by surprise. For someone who was constantly in his lab, working on all sorts of gadgets in his spare time, he was quite fit. His body structure resembled Ace's for the most part, except that Tech was more on the slender side and wasn't as well toned, but the definitions of his muscles were still obvious. She giggled on the inside from her observations. Tech tossed the sheet back onto the bed once he changed into a pair of shorts and an undershirt.

"Lexi?" Tech waved a hand, "Are you alright?"

"What?" She quickly shook her head, "Yes. Yes, I'm alright. The question is how are _you_ doing? You took a really big hit earlier."

"I'm fine." He confirmed and took a seat on the table, "I was just doing a self-inspection to be sure."

"Hey Tech, what's this?" Lexi eyed the notebook that was lying on the workbench.

Tech tried to reach for it, but it was already in Lexi's grasp. She flipped through several pages, noting that there were many photos of Tech accompanied with long detailed descriptions of them.

"It's a medical journal," He replied with a sigh, "It's like the charts they keep in the hospitals to keep track of client progress. You wouldn't really be interested." He extended his hand out for Lexi to return the journal.

"Wait," Lexi was still going from page to page of photos and descriptions, noticing that Tech had indeed undergone many changes since the meteor hit in 2772.

"You probably think it's silly,"

"It's not." Lexi assured him as she handed the journal over, "I actually find it interesting." She commented while taking a seat beside the canine.

"You really think so?" Tech beamed as he set the journal beside himself, "I'd like to think of it as a self-study, like an experiment if you will. I want to know how much my regenerative powers can handle."

Lexi frowned, "You didn't take on that molten blast just for the sake of science, did you?"

"What?" Tech now had a disgruntled look on his face.

"Well, you just said you wanted to see how much your powers could take." She reiterated.

"Yes, I did say that,"

Lexi sighed, "I wouldn't want you to seriously hurt yourself because you pushed your limits."

"I don't intentionally try to inflict harm onto myself if that's what you're thinking." He got up from the table and gave her a stern look.

"All I'm saying is for you to be careful out there-"

"Lexi, I had to protect you 'cause Ace couldn't. He was too far and couldn't have made it to you in time. Ace also doesn't have regenerative capabilities, so even if he did, he and you wouldn't even be here right now. I took that blow for you both, Lexi! I did it for you!"

Both of them froze.

"You what?" Lexi blinked, stunned at the coyote's sudden outburst.

"I…" he was speechless

"I don't know what that blast did to you," Lexi rose from where she was sitting, "but you need to get a hold of yourself!"

Tech sank back down onto the bed, trying to catch his breath. He scratched his head in frustration, shocked at his own behaviour. _For a genius, you can be quite stupid…_

"Tech…" she placed a hand on his shoulder.

He placed his hand on top of Lexi's, part of him wanted to push it away and the other wanted to keep it in place. They both sat silently for several minutes, until Tech decided to speak up.

"I shouldn't have said anything at all," He paused, "I'm sorry."

Lexi waited for him to continue, her heart still beating rapidly from Tech's outburst. She gathered her thoughts together to prepare herself for what Tech was about to tell her. Tech sighed to himself and continued.

"It's just that…" he trailed off yet again.

"That what?" her patience was beginning to tire.

"You know what? Just forget it. Forget we ever had this conversation." Tech shrugged off Lexi's hand from his shoulder. He stood up and quickly began to head towards the doorway. Tech had almost made his exit, but Lexi blocked his path by spreading her arms across the doorframe.

"Tech, you can't just forget this as if nothing happened," she leaned in closer, "Emotions don't have regenerative capabilities like you!"

He remained quiet as he and Lexi were face to face, both eyeing each other starkly. Lexi stood firm, determined to not let Tech pass until he explained himself. Tech on the other hand softened his look.

"I'm sorry," he looked down.

"You've already apologized but you sti-"

"No, I'm sorry for this…"

Tech advanced forward and brashly pressed his lips onto Lexi's. The kiss, completely throwing the bunny off guard, caused her to release her grip from the doorframe as she fell into his embrace and grabbed onto him for support.

Realizing his act of impulsiveness, he swiftly broke away. The two remained stationary at the doorway. Lexi held her fingers to her lips, unsure of what to think of what befell between her and her comrade.

"Why?" she softly whispered.

"I- "

The elevator chime sounded off as the doors slid open, Tech whirled around to see the metal doors slide apart as the second unexpected guest stepped into the med-lab.

" 'Ey Tech, how ya doin'?" Ace jovially walked over to where the two were standing.

Tech nervously chuckled, "I'm alright,"

"We're all goin' out to grab some grub, 'cause Slam's totally annihilated da fridge yet again," Ace jested, "Ya comin'?"

"Where to?" he asked.

"We dunno yet. Any suggestions?"

"Not really, but I don't think I'll be joining you guys. I'm probably going to rest here, but I suppose you can bring me back something nice."

"A doggie bag?" Ace grinned.

Tech's face twitched.

"I'm kiddin'!" The male bunny laughed. "Well, da rest o'dem are waitin' downstairs, ya sure ya don't wanna join us?"

The coyote waved a hand in front of his face, "Go on without me."

"Suit yaself," Ace shrugged as put an arm around Lexi.

Lexi weakly smiled and walked with Ace into the elevator pod. She gazed at Tech as he slumped over onto the workbench. He turned his head to see the two disappear behind the elevator doors.

-----

"Man, I am starvin'!" Ace said in amusement as his stomach growled.

Lexi watched the levels count down on the digital screen.

"Lex, ya feelin' ok?" Ace asked, with a worried look on his face, "Ya look as if someone died."

"Huh?" her attention was obviously somewhere else.

"You sick or somethin'?" he put a hand on her forehead.

"No," she replied, "I don't think so."

Ace pouted as he watched the digital screen count down the levels until it reached the ground floor. The two stepped out to meet with Rev, Danger and Slam.

"Where's-Tech? I-thought-he'd-b-" Rev asked, looking for his friend.

"What took so long?" Danger interjected.

"Tech's staying back here at HQ." Ace replied.

"I'll bet he's just going to work on his inventions again," Danger rolled his eyes, "I guess that's one less to split the bill with."

"Let'im be, he needs da rest anyways." Ace shrugged, "So, we jettin'?"

"Ace, I think I'm going to stay back as well," Lexi responded.

"You are?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, I guess it's just the four of us," Ace sighed and then turned to Lexi, "You take care o'yaself, 'kay?"

Lexi nodded and waved to the four as they left the base. As soon as they were out of sight, she headed to her quarters and fell back into her hammock.

_Tech, what have you done?_

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Please R&R :)  
KJ 


	3. Grand Theft Love Note

**Author's Note:** I'm going to admit that I've done better. These are just one of those chapters where you need to get out of the way so that we can proceed with the better stuffs... At least I hope :3

Geez. This is one long booger.

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**Chapter Three: Grand Theft Love Note.**

Tech sat quietly in his lab, contemplating over his actions from earlier. He began working on a few gadgets that he had started on a while back to keep his mind distracted from the situation. Unfortunately that wasn't enough, as his train of thought managed to find its way back to focusing on Lexi.

_Tech, what's gotten into you? You're not behaving rationally._ _How could you have kissed her? _He thought to himself as he put his head down on his workspace. The stress had taken its toll on his energy level. His eyelids began to feel heavy and he was ready to doze off – until he heard a knock on his door.

"Tech?"

His eyes widened. It was Lexi's voice. _Lexi? Now what am I going to say?_

"Tech, are you in there?"

He cleared his throat and put his glasses on, "Yes."

There was a short silence.

"Can I come in?"

_I suppose she's ready to let me have an ear full._ He sighed and turned to input the access code onto the keypad, returning quickly to where he was seated.

Lexi stood by the doorframe, and watched Tech continue to work on a few inventions.

"I understand that you're probably mad," he started, as he fiddled around with a trinket, trying to avoid eye contact.

"Mad?" Lexi raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, mad." He confirmed. "You did seem upset when we last parted."

"Tech, look at me." She put her hands on her hips, "Do I look upset?"

Tech froze, and noticed that Lexi's voice had a certain ambitious tone to it. He put the device he was working on onto a shelf that held the rest of his incomplete works and then turned to face Lexi. She was out of her uniform, and something more casual that consisted a pair of snug fitting jeans and a strapless pink shirt. He opened his mouth to speak, but was quite taken back by Lexi's appearance.

"I didn't think so." She smirked as she took a seat on his workspace.

"What's going on?" Tech rose from his chair, only to have Lexi playfully push him back down.

"Don't play dumb Tech," she tapped his nose and removed his glasses, setting them on the workbench before taking a seat on his lap, "You're a genius, I'm sure you can figure it out."

"I'm being…" he trailed off as he felt her soft lips kiss his neck, "…serious."

"Oh yeah?" She stopped and played with his hair, "So am I, hot stuff."

"Wait," Tech did a double take at the bunny, "What did you just call me?"

Lexi gave Tech a smug grin before planting her lips onto his. He remained still for a few seconds, before pulling away from the kiss.

"Lexi, we can't do this."

"Sure we can." She put her arms around him, "Stop playing so safe."

"But, you? And Ace?"

"What about Ace?" she shrugged and proceeded to lock lips with the coyote yet again.

He knew he should have pulled away, but he did otherwise by wrapping his arms around her petite figure.

"Yes. What about Ace?"

Tech rapidly pulled away from Lexi and jumped to his feet, letting the bunny fall to the floor. He looked to the doorway to find Ace leaning against the frame, expressionless before stepping into the lab.

"Busy wit' experimentin' I see?" Ace coldly commented.

"Chief, I-" Tech started.

"Don't 'chief' me," Ace shot back angrily, lunging at Tech.

"Ace, no!" Lexi shouted as the two fell to the floor.

Ace had the coyote pinned down to the floor, both hands tightly clasped around Tech's neck

"Ya know Tech, I didn't think ya'd be one to do 'dis!" he added more pressure onto his grip.

"Ace… please…" Tech tried to break free, but his efforts were rendered useless. Ace was obviously the stronger one when it came to hand-to-hand combat.

"I can't… breathe…" the words barely escaped his lips.

Ace growled, but he continued to strangle the coyote, "Dats da point!"

"I'm… sorry… Ace…" Tech continued to struggle free.

"It's a lil' too late for apologies!"

Tech began to feel light-headed, as his airway remained blocked off by Ace's grip. He looked to Lexi, who simply stood and watched. He felt his body give up and go limp and with one last breath…

-----

Tech shot up from his seat, gasping for air.

_It was only a dream._ He ran a hand through his hair and began to pace back and forth. _Okay Tech. You're going to have to explain yourself to Lexi, and maybe even Ace._ He sighed to himself._ But how?_

He stopped immediately in his tracks as soon as an idea hit.

"I've got it!" Tech opened up a drawer and took out a blank sheet of paper and a pen from his stationary holder. He sat down and sighed before proceeding, "Here it goes."

'_Dear Lexi,' he began to write as he stifled a laugh. _I can't believe I'm doing this.

-----

After about an hour of writing, Tech finished his note.

"Letter writing _is _therapeutic." He signed the letter, "Now to put this away where no one else can find it."

Tech exited the lab and headed to his room to stash away the letter. On his way, he passed by Lexi's quarters. He stopped right in front of her door and stared at it blankly for a few seconds. He let out a heavy sigh and held the sheet to the door.

"If only you knew…" As he removed his hand from the door, the letter slipped from his grasp and slid under the door into Lexi's quarters.

"No!" Tech scrambled down to the floor, eyeing the paper through the slit. He pulled at his hair in frustration, angry at himself for being so careless. _You just HAD to stop here. _

He rose to his feet and frantically paced around._ Think Tech! I can't let her see the note!_

A small grin slid across Tech's face as he managed to come up with an idea. _No one's here. I can just go in and out easily, and nobody will notice!_ His hands began to glow green as he effortlessly manipulated the metal door to slide open. _Bingo._ Tech bent down and snatched the paper off the floor.

"Gotcha! Thought you could escape me huh?" He jested to the inanimate object, followed by a small chuckle.

"Escape? Tech, I think you're the one avoiding me."

Tech stood upright and found himself face-to-face with a not-so-amused Lexi. He felt his heart skip a beat as he was completely startled by her presence.

"I don't know what's going on here, but how dare you break into my room!?" She scolded.

"I thought you weren't here," Tech fumbled around with the letter in his hands.

"And I suppose that makes it even better to break in and enter?" Lexi rolled her eyes sarcastically.

"Yes- I mean no! It's not okay, I'm sorry! I can explain Lexi, really I can-"

"You better Tech. You better have a decent explanation for _all_ of this! I'm not talking only about what happened now, but for your outburst earlier and for what you did in the med-lab!"

" 'Ey guys! We're back!" Ace's voice echoed through the corridor.

Tech look down sheepishly at the letter and quickly crumpled it into his pocket.

"You owe me an explanation and you better have it soon." Lexi poked a finger at his chest, "Otherwise we're going to Zadavia."

Rev zipped over to where Tech and Lexi were and held up two brown paper bags, "We-came-back-as-soon-as-we-could. We-didn't-want-you-guys-to-go-hungry."

"Plus, Slam got us kicked out." Ace stepped in, "Again."

The voices of Danger and Slam could be heard from all the way in the lounge.

"Slam, that is absolutely the last time I eat out with you, anywhere! I simply refuse to get banned from another restaurant because you couldn't control your appetite!"

"But…"

"No buts!"

"It was a buffet!" Slam growled.

Ace and Rev simultaneously sighed.

"So we just got ya some fast food, hope ya don't mind," Ace grinned.

"Thanks," Lexi took the bag from Rev and quickly returned to her room. Her body language obviously showed that she didn't want to be disturbed.

Rev raised an eyebrow, "What's-wrong-with-her?"

"Yeah, she obviously looks mad," Ace added, "What happened while we were out?"

"It's a long story chief," Tech sighed.

"Ya wanna share?"

"Not really, all in all, it's really my fault that she's upset."

"I see." Ace paused, "Maybe I should go talk to her."

"No," Tech blurted.

Ace raised an eyebrow, "No?"

"We'll work something out," Tech assured, "She just needs to be left alone for a while."

"You-look-like-you-can-use-some-food-and-some-relaxation," Rev shoved the bag into the coyote's hands, "here-eat!"

"I'm not hungry Rev." Tech pushed the bag back.

Ace and Rev looked at each other and then back at Tech.

"What? I'll eat, but later. Just set it in the fridge with my name on it so that Slam won't take it."

"Whatever-you-say-pal!" Rev dashed to the kitchen to set the food away.

Ace looked to Tech, "Rev's right, ya need some relaxation."

"Yeah, that's it," Tech nodded in agreement, "I think I'll get some shut-eye right about now."

"Bu-"

"G'night Ace!" Tech quickly set off to his quarters.

"'Eh, g'night Tech?" Ace scratched his head, but Tech was already gone.

-----

Tech lay on his side, staring at the letter he had written.

"That was too close," he said to himself, before tucking it into the nightstand drawer.

* * *

Chapter four is already halfway to completion. Hope to post it soon :)  
Don't forget to R&R!  
KJ 


	4. Happy Meal

**Author's note: **This was actually posted on the LUO forums many months ago. I only now realized that I didn't upload this chapter onto Heh, whoops! Anyways, enjoy =3

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**Chapter Four: Happy Meal**

Tech tossed and turned in his bed, unable to fall asleep. He finally settled on lying on his back and stared blankly at the ceiling. _Some fine mess you got yourself into._

His ears perked up as they picked up a low rumbling type of noise. At first he ignored it and closed his eyes in an attempt to sleep it off, but rather than fading out the sound, it grew louder. Tech sat up and looked down at his abdomen.

"No wonder." He held a hand over his stomach, "I haven't eaten all day."

With that, he threw the sheets off and proceeded to the kitchen.

Tech opened the refrigerator and pulled out the paper bag his teammates brought for him earlier, "Let's see what we have here…"

He peeked into the contents of the bag and pulled out a large styrofoam take out container. Tech held it close to his face and lifted the cover. It was fries and some sort of sandwich. It didn't matter what kind, all he knew was that he needed something to settle his stomach. Tech turned to the microwave and set the food in for a few seconds.

Tech pulled up a seat to the middle table and quickly began to pick at his fries with a fork. _I must've been hungrier than I thought._ He continued to stuff his mouth with fries, until he heard footsteps. Tech sat up right and paced his consumption, he laughed to himself since he felt like Slam for a moment. He continued to eat as he waited for whomever it was that was going to enter.

Lexi quickly passed Tech as she tossed out her food scraps from earlier. It was the first time she had left her room since Tech let himself in. She tried to avoid eye contact with the coyote, but couldn't help to take a glance in his direction. 

"Hey," Tech greeted as he watched Lexi rummage through the refrigerator.

Lexi continued on, pretending she didn't hear him.

"You're obviously still mad," Tech sighed, "You're even refusing to speak to me."

She froze and looked up from the fridge, "I will, when you're ready to explain yourself."

Tech picked at another fry and sighed, "Have a seat." he gestured to the stool beside him using his fork.

Lexi grabbed two cans of soda and took her seat beside Tech, "Ok Tech, I'm all ears."

Tech sat quietly, staring down at the take out container while pondering on how to begin his explanation. He didn't expect that he would be explaining everything to Lexi so suddenly. Lexi watched him as she waited for him to speak.

"Look Tech," Lexi hunched over the table, "We're teammates, and we're also friends. I don't know what's going on with you that's causing you to act so oddly, but with whatever you're going through, I want to help."

"What I'm going through?" Tech arched his eyebrows, "You probably _could_ help, but whether you'd want to after I tell you is a completely different story."

"You're a smart guy, and for you to act," she paused, "well, not quite yourself, there's got to be a reason."

"You want to know _what_ I'm going through?"

Lexi nodded.

Tech pulled the fork away from his lips and swallowed the food in his mouth.

"I think I'm in love with you." 

With that said, Tech dropped his fork onto his food as Lexi began to blush, "Does that answer everything for you?"

He waited for her reply, but Lexi just frowned.

"Lexi, I'm sorry that I've seem to upset you again, but-"

"Why couldn't you have said anything sooner?" She interrupted.

"Huh?" Tech blinked, confused by her reaction.

"When you kissed me in the lab, who broke away?"

"Me." He replied, "But Lexi, what are you trying to get at?"

"Did you notice that I didn't break away?"

"Not really, as soon as I realized what I did, I-" Tech paused and turned to face Lexi, "No. No, you didn't…"

Lexi shook her head, "I didn't."

"Then why are you so mad at me then?" Tech frowned, "I'm so lost."

"I was in love with you too at one point. When we first met, I actually thought you were kinda cute." Lexi explained, still blushing, "I tried to get your attention, but you seemed too into your science stuff to notice."

"You did?" Tech chuckled, "I think I would've noticed."

"You think you would have, but you didn't." Lexi crossed her arms over her chest.

"I'm a scientist. I'm all about observation." He bragged, "But since you insist that you did, tell me what I didn't notice."

Lexi stretched her arms over her head and unfastened the sash that tied her ears together. She laid it across the table in front of Tech. 

"I was supposed to notice a fashion accessory?" Tech asked, raising an eyebrow.

"When we first came together as a group, I used to wear a pink sash." Lexi sighed, "Then I switched to green hoping that you would've noticed."

A small grin appeared on Tech's face, "It was a little too subtle," he chuckled.

"It had to be subtle," Lexi shrugged. "Think about it: 'Pep-squad cheerleader falls for boy genius'. They would've laughed."

"And who would _they_ be?"

"I don't know." She shrugged again, "It was just me being stupid."

"I guess it's too late now."

"Hmm?"

"You and Ace. You two are together right?"

"It's complicated," she sighed and slumped down on the table, resting her chin on the backs of her hands, "Tech, why didn't you say anything sooner?"

"I was," he sighed, "afraid."

"Afraid of who? Me?"

"Not you, per say, but I was afraid of getting hurt again."

"It wasn't Mastermind was it?" Lexi asked.

"You mean Mallory?" Tech corrected.

"Right, Mallory."

He simply nodded.

"Tech," Lexi sat up and placed a hand on his upper back, as if she were consoling him in some way, she felt like hugging him, but held back for now. "It wasn't your fault that she became a villain."

"It partially is. I should've found another way to stop her invention, but instead I turned her into the monstrosity that she is today."

"You aren't still in love with her, are you?"

"I loved her in the past, but she's a completely different individual now. That experiment had to be sabotaged… I supposed it was for the greater good."

"Speaking of greater good, I never did get a chance to thank you for saving my life earlier."

"You don't need to thank me,"

"Okay, fine." She put her hands on her hips, "I certainly do owe you one though,"

"No, don't worry about it." Tech waved a hand.

"I insist. You wanna go for a coffee?"

"Coffee? At this hour? Lexi, It's-" he looked to the microwave, "2:37am."

"Already? I didn't notice. What's open at this time then?"

"I don't know." Tech smiled smugly.

"What are you smiling about?"

"Is this you asking me on a date?"

Lexi cocked her head to the side and yawned, "Take it as you will."

"Fine," Tech grinned, "Can I get a rain check?"

"Perhaps," She smiled coyly and got up from the table and started towards the hallway.

"I'll take that as a yes." Tech stood up and cleared the table of its clutter, "I suppose that this is good night then?" he smiled, turning to see Lexi before she left.

"Good Night Tech."

* * *

To be continued! Don't forget to R&R!  
KJ 


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